Poisoned Heart, Poisoned Mind
by Fifilafemme
Summary: [Sequel to 'The Lady In Black'][AU] Just when Amelda thinks his life is finally getting better, things take an unexpected turn [Discontinued...sorry]


Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, Ferrari, or any of the characters, so don't sue me:D

**Beautiful Insanity**

_"This is all my fault..." _thought Amelda as he gazed at his reflection in the bullet proof glass directly in front of him _"How could I have let things get to this point?"_

As he sat all alone in the dimly lit room, Amelda was overwhelmed with many thoughs and feelings. After all this particular room happened to be located inside Domino Maximum Security Penitentiary. Just the lighting in the room was enough to remind him of the small cell that Dr. Lestrange locked him. Even though he was imprisoned for only a month, it was a month of pure Hell. Never before in his life had Amelda felt so alone, guilty, and utterly helpless. In fact if it hadn't been for Nurse St. Claire stealing his mental health record and helping to expose Dr. Lestrange, he had a feeling that he still might be imprisoned. Naturally when Amelda got out, he hoped never to have to set foot in the prison ever again. _But here I am six months later..._

_"Only this time I'm here for a reason" _thought Amelda as two muffled voices were heard somewhere closeby _"It's the least I can do after everything I've caused"_

_**BUZZ**_

At that moment a buzzer sounded and a door opened up on the other side of the bullet proof glass. The light on the other side of the door was so bright, that it momentarily blinded Amelda. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he noticed an armed guard standing in the doorway. The guard gave the redhead a quick look, before stepping back through the door. Seconds later a brown haired man walked through the door, before the guard quickly shut it. The moment the man realized who the redhead on the other side was, his dark blue eyes opened in astonishment. _I never thought I would see him again..._

_"This is completely unexpected" _thought Odysseus as he began to walk forward towards the chair directly in front of Amelda _"Especially since my angels are the only two who ever visit me"_

_"This is Odysseus?" _thought Amelda as he observed the man walking towards him on the other side of the glass _"I can't believe how much he's managed to recover"_

Just looking at this man, it was almost impossible to believe that just six months before he had looked like a grey skinned zombie. After all not only had Odysseus managed to regain some weight, but his hair had been cut, and his moustache, and beard were neatly trimmed. He actually looked very distinguished, despite the fact that he was in a blue prison uniform. Meanwhile Odysseus was also equally amazed at how much Amelda had recovered, but there was one thing he didn't quite understand...

"Young man..." said Odysseus with a look of disbelief as he took a seat directly in front of Amelda "What brings you here?"

"I wish I could say that this is just a simple visit" said Amelda as he struggled to keep himself from hanging his head in shame "But it not..."

"Did something happen?" asked Odysseus as observed the redhead's awkward body language at that moment

"Yes.." said Amelda as a pained and guilt ridden look filled his steel grey eyes "And the reason I'm here is to tell you how it all happened..."

**XXXXXXXXXXX **(A Week And A Half Before)

_"After all of these months of waiting" thought The Viper as her red lips curled into a wicked grin, and her green eyes glowed ominously "The end of The Crimson Night is finally here...". It was a warm summer evening with a full reddish moon overlooking the massive colliseum they were in. At that moment The Viper was comfortably seated in a private box, which overlooked the entire arena. Even though every member of The Society of Assassins was currently present, only two had the privilege of sitting with her. The first was Dr. Hugo Lestrange, a tall, thin man with glasses, whose crueltly and undying loyalty made him a favorite of his master. The second was Victoria, a small black haired teenager whose naive face concealed one of the most brilliant minds ever. As the three quietly sat there, the door to the box opened, and a small, fat, and almost toadlike man entered. The man immediately threw himself before his master, and handed her two pictures. One was of a handsome man with shoulder length blonde hair and a fierce look in his dark green eyes. The other was of a beautiful teenage girl with long auburn hair and a tormented look in her pale green eyes. "So these are the final two assassins?" said The Viper as she eyed the pictures before handing them to Dr. Lestrange and Victoria "Well I'm honestly not surprised to see that Adonis is one of them". "He is one of your strongest assassins after all Madame" said Claudius as he scurried over to where Dr. Lestrange was sitting "Although the girl took everyone by surprise". "Although I've never seen this girl in person before" said Dr. Lestrange as he looked at the girl's picture "I can tell you that she's as insane as she is beautiful". "Who is she?" asked Victoria as she peered over at the picture with a look of curiosity "I''ve never seen her in person either" "The only thing I know is that her name is Amneris" said Claudius as he looked at the teenager in the picture "And that she's no match for Adonis". "I wouldn't be so sure..." said Victoria as she momentarily looked down at the center of the colliseum "After all she didn't get this far by being weak". "Don't be foolish Victoria!" shouted Claudius as he looked over at the picture of Adonis "He'll tear her limb from limb!". "The moment I've been waiting for has arrived" said The Viper as she stood up and looked down at the colliseum "Tell them that I want the final match to begin..."_

**Beep Beep Beep**

"Uhh..." groaned Amelda as he lazily extended an arm, turned off the offending alarm clock, and slowly sat up in his bed _"Why have I been having that same dream all week?"_

Although Amelda was no stranger to having strange dreams, he never thought it would happen again. After all the last time it had happened, the dreams had come to a halt on their own. So even though he been having fairly normal dreams for the past six months, the streak came to an end the previous week. Now instead of dreaming about Miruko and his mother, he found himself dreaming about The Viper and her lackeys. _I think this qualifies more as a nightmare..._

"Sadistic bastards..." said Amelda as he rubbed his sleepy grey eyes and ran a hand through his messy red hair "Just thinking of them gives me a headache..."

As Amelda slowly pulled the covers off of his legs and looked over at his nightstand, he noticed the date on the calendar. When he realized that it was the sixteenth day of June, he couldn't help but give a little smile. After all in just a few days, it would be exactly six months that he and Tea had begun their relationship. In Amelda's opinion it had been six of the best months of his life... even if there was one little problem. Although Amneris didn't realize he had a relationship with Tea, that didn't stop her from hating him. After all the moment that she realized he knew her secret, it made her extremely fearful. So when she happened to figure out that Amelda lived on the same street, she became completely paranoid. The fact that she also figured out that he was the one who nearly ran her over with his motorcycle, didn't exactly help either. In fact in the few times that they had run into each other, Amneris gave him threatening glares. What she didn't realize though was that Amelda had no intention of revealing her secret. Especially now that he had seen just how happy Tea was now that her mother decided to stay in Domino. _Well that's one less reason for that woman to hate me..._

_"But if she knew how I feel about her daughter" _thought Amelda as he walked over to his closet and began to look for his work clothes _"She'd come here and kill me with her bare hands"_

After finally picking out a dark grey suit, white shirt, and a blue tie, Amelda headed into his bathroom. Even though work didn't start for an hour and a half, he knew that he needed every second he could get. Although it didn't take him long to wash up, get dressed, and eat, it did take him a long time to wake Varon up. _I think a bucket of ice water should do the trick..._

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"Today's da day I tell ya sis!" exclaimed Joey as he grinned from ear to ear as he drowned the waffles in his plate with syrup "Da day dat Joey Wheeler proves dat he's got what it takes ta be somebody!"

"Huh?" asked Serenity as she looked up from her own waffles and over at her brother with a quizzical look on her face "What are you talking about?"

"I'm takin' my finals today" said Joey as he put the syrup down and began to eat his waffles "And ya know what? I'm gonna pass em' all ta make ya and Mai real proud!"

Since the day Mai came back into his life, Joey felt that his life was now perfect. Not only did he have the woman that he loved back in his life, but she was was there for him and his sister. Although there had been a few occasions on which Mai had no choice but to treat Joey like a child. For example at the beginning of the semester, Joey seemed to have fallen into his old habit of ditching classes. In fact the only reason Mai found out was because she caught him lurking around Domino High, at a time he was supposed to be in class. Realizing he had been caught out, Joey decided to tell her the real reason that he was there...

_"I know what you're thinkin' Mai" _echoed Joey's voice in his own memory as he remembered that fateful day back in February _"But dere's a good reason why I'm here and not in class..."_

_"And what reason would that be?" _echoed Mai's voice as Joey remembered the way she put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot _"I'm waiting to hear it"_

_"I've been coming here for da past few weeks ta keep an eye on Serenity" _echoed Joey's voice in his sincerest tone of voice as he looked into her violet eyes _"I wanna make sure dat Varon doesn't try ta show up here..."_

_"Joey...while I understand why you're doing this" _said Mai as a strange look that looked like a mixture of sadness and guilt filled her eyes _"Have you stopped to think about the future?"_

_"Huh?"_

It was only at that moment that Mai's look softened a bit and she explained everything. She told him that it he kept ditching classes, he was going to fail them. If this happened, not only would it take longer to graduate, but Serenity would be disappointed as well. After all he had to remember that she looked up to him, and that he couldn't let her down. So what were to happen if she found out that the only reason he failed, was because he had been ditching class in order to keep an eye on her? Naturally poor Serenity would blame herself, and feel absolutely miserable. Only then did Joey realize that even though his intentions had been good, they had been foolish at the same time. He had been so obsessed with keeping Varon away from his sister, that he completely forgot about his own life. Suddenly Mai put her hand on his shoulder, looked deeply into his brown eyes, and said something that he hadn't been able to forget...

_"I know that one day you'll graduate and become an important man" _echoed Mai's words once again in Joey's memory _"So get back to school hon and show the world that Joey Wheeler isn't just some underdog"_

"Yup not only am I gonna pass my finals" mumbled Joey as he shoved a huge forkful of waffle into his mouth "But I'm gonna get nothin' but A's!"

"I know that you will" said Serenity as she smiled and not only because her brother's cheeks were puffed up with food "After all I've seen how hard you've been studying the past few months"

"Dis'll prove not only dat I'm not dumb" said Joey after gulping hard and managing to swallow the food in his mouth "But dat I can be just as successful as dat jerk Kaiba!"

_"Kaiba?"_ thought Serenity as she suddenly dropped her fork as her head shot up and her warm brown eyes opened wide

Just hearing the handsome young CEOs name, was enough to ruin Serenity's breakfast. Even though she once had an innocent crush on Seto, she never expected it to amount to anything. After all he was rich, powerful, could have any woman he wanted, and looked down on her family. What she never expected was for Seto to also have feelings for her, but his intentions were far from innocent as she learned the hard way. Just the one kiss they had shared, revealed the intense lust he felt towards her. While Serenity managed to get away, she was too scared to tell anyone what had happened. If she did, then Joey might somehow find out, and things could get violent. Unlike Varon though, Seto was powerful, vindictive, and capable of causing much more harm. Not wanting Joey to get seriously hurt or worse, Serenity kept the secret to herself. Unfortunately it seemed that Seto had figured this out, and it made the past few months very uncomfortable for her...

"Hey is everything okay Serenity?" asked Joey with a look of surprised in his eyes when he saw the look on Serenity's face "Uh...Serenity?"

_"I hate this situation so much..." _thought Serenity who was completely oblivious to the fact that Joey was talking to her _"Why am I letting him get to me like this?"_

The first day after winter break, was also the first day of Serenity's new torment. As she walked down the snowy sidewalk towards the school entrance, she passed a blue Ferrari parked at the curb. Suddenly Mokuba popped out of the passenger side, and immediately ran over to greet her. Even as he happily chatted away telling her about his winter break, Serenity didn't hear a word of it. After all the passenger window rolled down, and Seto was smirking as he stared at her with his icy blue eyes. While it was the only time he drove Mokuba to school, but apparently it wasn't the last she'd see of him. Before long whenever Serenity was walking alone during the evening or weekends, she'd always see a Ferrari drive by. Sometimes it was a blue one, other times a red one, occasionally a black one, but most of the time it was a silver one. While she did know that he owned a red Ferrari and a blue one, she wasn't so sure about the others. _Maybe I'm just being paranoid..._

"SERENITY!"

"Huh?"

"What's goin' on?" asked Joey with a concerned look on his face when she finally snapped out of it "Is everything okay with ya sis?"

"Oh I guess I'm just a little nervous..." lied Serenity as she gave a little sheepish grin and picked her fork up with a trembling hand "R-Remember that I'm taking my finals today too?"

"Aww c'mon you'll do great!" said Joey as he smiled at her since he knew just how smart she really was "Afta' all everyone knows dat you're da real brains in dis family"

"Thanks Joey" said Serenity as she momentarily raised her gaze and looked up at the clock on the wall "Hey doesn't your class start at 7:45 in the morning?"

"Yeah why?"

"Because it's 7:30 right now"

"WHAT!? AHHHHH! I'M GONNA BE LATE TA MY FINALS!"

Joey immediately jumped up from the table, grabbed his backpack, and ran out of the apartment as quickly as he could. Now that she was finally alone, Serenity let out a sad little sigh, picked up her backpack, and headed out towards school. Thanks to the unneccessary stress Seto added to her life, it began to make her think of Varon once again. He had always treated her very well, and never made her feel uncomfortable...but it was all a lie. After all at this point Joey had told her alot more about him, including the fact that he had also been in love with Mai. The moment Serenity heard this, she realized that Varon had probably only been using her to get back at Joey. _I was just a pawn in his twisted little game..._

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"I can't believe how quickly this semester went by" said Tea as she put checked her backpack to make sure she had everything she needed "I guess it's because everything's been so good these past few months"

The past six months of Tea's life, had been far better than she ever could have hoped for. First of all, now that the truth about her father had come out, her relationship with her mother greatly improved. For the first time in over sixteen years, Amneris broke her silence and began to talk to Tea about Odysseus. She told him everything about him, and pulled out all of the old pictures she had of him. Amneris even framed a few of the pictures and put them up on the walls in their apartment. Although she chose to display her wedding picture on the glass coffee table for all to see. Second of all, Tea also got the chance to visit her father in prison and actually speak to him for the first time in her life. Despite her initial feelings of uncertainty, she quickly realized that her mother had been telling her the truth all along. Odysseus truly was a kind man who loved his wife and daughter more than anything in the world. _For the first time in my life, my family feels complete..._

_"As if that isn't good enough" _thought Tea as she closed the zipper on her backpack and picked up her purse _"There's even more"_

Even though her last semester ended prematurely due to her accident, Tea still managed to bounce back. All of her teachers gave her extra time to catch up, and let her take her final when she was ready. Naturally Alex insisted on helping her study, so it was no surprise that she ended up getting all "A's". Luckily he was once again in almost all of her classes, so they spent alot of time studying together. The only downside of the semester was the fact that she had to retake her dance class, but even that took an unexpected turn. Even when Tea took the class for the first time, Miss Esmeralda had to admit that she was a very good dancer. Once again she demonstrated her talent, and managed to impress her teacher once again. It was for this reason that Miss Esmeralda decided that it was pointless to leave her in that class, and decided to put her in the advanced class she taught. So Tea was once again reunited with her old classmates who were all happy to see her, with the exception of Arielle Beauregard...

_"While all of those things have made me happy" _thought Tea with a little smile on her lips as she walked towards her bedroom door _"The one thing that's probably made me the happiest is-"_

_**Knock Knock**_

"Tea I have to leave for work right now!" shouted Amneris as she stood outside of her daughter's bedroom door "Good luck on your finals honey!"

"Wait I'm leaving right now too!" exclaimed Tea as she quickly opened the bedroom door and nearly ended up colliding with her mother "We can walk to the end of the street together"

The moment Amneris heard her daughter say this, she couldn't help but smile. So mother and daughter walked down the stairs, and began to chat as they headed outside. During this time Tea told her mother how excited she was that she had managed to get through her first year of college. Amneris smiled and told her that both she and Odysseus were very proud of her. As they walked out of the building, they bumped into Mrs. Dominguez who had been putting her tabby outside for the day. So after saying goodmorning to her, they made it to the sidewalk and continued on their way. Even though the situation didn't seem like anything special, it meant the world to Amneris. Usually she never got to see her daughter in the morning, since "Von Schroeder's" department store penalized employees who were late. Just when Amneris thought nothing could spoil her day, she noticed that Tea's eyes were fixed on something up ahead at the end of the street. The moment she decided to see what it was, she found herself looking at a black SUV parked at the curb...

_"What's taking Varon so long?" _thought Amelda as he sat behind the steering wheel of the SUV and glanced down at his watch _"Did he fall asleep again or what?"_

_"You redhead scoundrel!" _thought Amneris as she felt her heartbeat increase as they got closer and closer to the SUV _"Why do you keep tormenting me like this!?"_

_"Amelda..." _thought Tea as a slight blush creeped over her cheeks as she looked directly at the redhead _"You're the best thing that's happened to me in this past six months"_

_"Hey it's Tea" _thought Amelda when he looked up and saw the brunette girl heading in his direction, but then noticed who was with her _"And her mother..."_

_"Why on Earth is he staring in this direction!?" _thought Amneris as she nervously fingered the pink silk scarf tied around her neck _"I hate seeing those large creepy grey eyes of his"_

_"I wish I could talk to you right now" _thought Tea as she gave him a secretive smile right as she walked right by him _"But I guess I'll have to wait until later tonight"_

_"Just seeing you makes my day better" _thought Amelda as he looked straight at her and gave her a secretive smile of his own _"It's a shame I can't tell you though"_

The moment Amelda did this, Amneris realized that he was staring at her daughter. She immediately interpreted this as him taunting her, and letting her know that he could easily befriend Tea. Then once he had her daughter's attention, he would reveal the sort of woman Amneris was. Not wanting to think about it a second longer, the auburn haired woman quickly turned to her daughter, and forced a smile onto her face.

"Honey I think you should hurry up and leave already" said Amneris in her sweetest and most motherly tone of voice "I wouldn't want you to be late after all"

"Oh...okay" said Tea realized that something seemed unusual about her mother, but she couldn't quite figure it out "I'll see you later mom!"

As Amelda observed the scene, he knew exactly what was going to happen next. Surely enough as soon as Tea had made it across the street, Amneris turned and looked right at him. Her pale green eyes were filled with a look that he could only describe as a mixture of anger, hatred, and insanity. Even though no words were exchanged between them, Amneris made one thing very clear. If the redhead ever dared to open his mouth, she would kill him. She then simply turned around and walked off as if though nothing had happened. Before he had time to think about the situation, the passenger door opened up, and a very cranky Varon got inside. _I guess the bucket of ice water did work after all..._

"About time you got here" said Amelda as he tried his hardest not to laugh as he looked over at Varon "What took you so long?"

"I'm gonna get ya for this sheila..." growled Varon as he put on his seatbelt and slumped down in the seat "Right when ya least expect it!"

Even with Varon threating to get revenge, Amelda wasn't worried at all. After all the Aussie's idea of revenge was usually nothing more than childish pranks that anyone could see through. So as Amelda pulled onto the street, he couldn't help but give a little smile. _This is definitely going to be one of the best days of my life..._

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"I can't believe that it's the last day of school!" exclaimed Mokuba as he sat at the dining room table "I also can't wait for tomorrow!"

"Hmm?" asked Seto as he glanced up from the newspaper he was looking at, and looked over at his younger brother "And why are you so excited about tomorrow?"

"Because tomorrow is my first day of vacation!" shouted Mokuba as he happily jumped up and knocked over his bowl of cereal "Besides Serenity and I have plans to go to the movies tomorrow"

_"Serenity?"_

Just the mere mention of the auburn haired girl, was enough to get Seto's full attention. After all for the past few months, he found himself unable to get the girl out of his mind. It was pretty strange considering that if it hadn't been for Mokuba, he probably wouldn't even know who she was. Even though Seto initially took pleasure in humiliating Serenity for being a Wheeler, he never expected to end up having feelings for her. It was also these same feelings that made him very possessive, and determined to keep all other men away from her...

"It'll be nice to spend some time outside of school with her" said Mokuba as he ran a hand through his messy long black hair "Plus I get to spend an entire summer doing absolutely noth-"

"Doing nothing all summer is for slackers like Wheeler" said Seto as he put down his newspaper and reached over for his cup of coffee "That's why you're going to spend your summer at Kaiba Corp"

"WHAT!?" cried Mokuba who felt as if though his older brother had just slapped him across the face "But why do I have to go there all summer!?"

"Because if anything ever happens to me" said Seto as he took a sip of his plain black coffee "Then you'll be the new head of Kaiba Corp"

"B-B-But I already had so many plans!" protested Mokuba who was now completely miserable now that his summer had officially been ruined "Can't you reconsider?"

"Sorry but my mind is made up" said Seto as he stood up from the table and headed over to get his silver briefcase "Besides it'll be a good way to help keep your mind busy"

Mokuba was so upset that he immediately walked off to wait for his limo, while muttering under his breath. After all he should have seen it coming, since Seto had been acting strange all year. First of all he no longer rode in limos, and preferred to drive himself around. He also came home incredibly late every night, and claimed that it was because he had been stuck in traffic. Mokuba could tell he was lying, but he honestly didn't give it much thought. _Maybe if I had, then this wouldn't be happening..._

_"He's either going crazy from the stress" _thought Mokuba as the chauffeur held open the back door of the limo for him_"Or he's just punishing me for wanting to have fun like a normal person"_

_"I never thought I would have to do that" _thought Seto as he walked down the steps of his mansion and towards the garage _"But I've come too far at this point to let anyone interfere"_

As soon as Seto entered the garage, he smirked as he gazed at his massive collection of cars. Despite having so many luxurious cars to choose from, he walked straight to his four Ferraris. The cars were Seto's favorite since they were sleek, fast, and made him feel unstoppable. As he eyed the cars, he couldn't decide which one he wanted to take. While the red one was his favorite of all, one of the tires seemed to be low on air. He didn't really feel much like taking the blue or black one, so that left only one choice. _It looks like I'll be taking the silver one again today..._

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"I'm so nervous right now Ulysses" said Constantina with a worried look on her face as she and Mr. Anderson stood in an elevator "I just hope that my plan works"

"While I can understand your concern" said Mr. Anderson as he adjusted his glasses as he glanced up at the floor numbers "I have to admit that your plan is very clever"

"It has to be since The Crimson Night starts in exactly eight nights" said Constantina with a distressed look in her brown eyes as the elevator approached the top floor "And her assassins are moving very quickly this time"

"My informants tell me that many people have already been kidnapped" said Mr. Anderson as he lightly rubbed the leather on his briefcase "But I don't quite understand why"

No sooner had Mr. Anderson said this, a strange look came across Constantina's face. She then clenched her fist and brought it up to her chest, almost as if though she were in pain. She began to tell Mr. Anderson the real reason why all of these people had been kidnapped. All of the members of The Society knew that The Crimson Night only came around every few years. It was precisely during this time that one of them would have the chance to become their master's new top assassin. Unfortunately no one had earned this privilege the past few years, since The Viper felt that no one was good enough. After all despite the fact that Angel was a traitor, she had also been the most ruthless assassin ever. So in order to show The Viper that they worthy, they needed to hone their skills. In order to get extra practice, they would kill innocent victims in the most horrible ways possible. After all they would be facing off against other assassins, and in the end only one person would survive. _I've seen all it with my very own eyes..._

"I don't want to see more innocent people die so pointlessly..." sniffled Constantina as she removed her glasses as her eyes filled with tears "And I'm afraid that Raphael's life may be in danger right now"

"Because of the visit he paid her a few months ago right?" said Mr. Anderson as he shook his head at the mere thought "I honestly doubt she's forgotten it"

"I also fear that even his friends may be in danger" said Constantina as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief "After all you saw what she put Amelda through in prison"

"Victoria... not only am I confident that you'll be able to protect them" said Mr. Anderson as he sudden gave her a sincere little smile "I'm also confident that you'll be able to protect this meddlesome old lawyer"

At that moment the elevator reached the top floor, and the silver doors opened up to let them out. As they stepped out of the elevator, Constantina felt butterflies in her stomach. While Mr. Anderson felt that the plan she had come up with was clever, she knew it wouldn't be easy to pull off. Yet as they reached the doors leading into Raphael's office, she knew it was time to put it to the test. So she adjusted the feathers on the black pillbox hat she wore, and prepared herself once again for the role of a strange and overly affectionate fashion designer. _Goodbye Victoria, Hello Constantina..._

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

_"After all of these months of waiting" _thought Madame Cervantes as she looked out of her office window at the Azure Inc building in the distance _"The time is almost here..."_

Although Madame Cervantes was the CEO of Obsidian Inc, that was of no importance to her at the moment. After all even back when her company was small and insignificant, she was already The Viper. The small figurine on her desk of the winged serpent Quetzalcoal, was a reminder of this fact. Even her decision to use the winged serpent as her corporate logo, reflected this. Therefore The Society Of Assassins was her main concern, especially now that The Crimson Night was approaching. Not only because it was her favorite event, but because things would be very different...

_"This time there are actually assassins worthy of being my top minion" _thought Madame Cervantes as her red lips curled into a sadistic grin _"So I expect things to be more interesting than the past few years"_

_**BUZZ**_

"What is it Nightshade?" asked Madame Cervantes as she walked over to her desk and pressed the button on the intercom "Is the package I requested here?"

"No Madame" said Nightshade in a voice that was cold, monotone, and showed absolutely no signs of human life "Claudius and Dr. Lestrange are here"

_"Pair of useless imbeciles" _thought Madame Cervantes as her green eyes began to glow from the anger "Fine... let them in"

Even though Claudius and Dr. Lestrange were her oldest and most loyal minions, Madame Cervantes loathed them. Even though she had originally favored them because of their good qualities, she had seen very little of those recently. After all back when Angel was still on the run, Claudius was supposed to follow her. Unfortunately she managed to constantly outsmart him, and he was rarely able to find her. Dr. Lestrange on the other hand was a very smart man, but he too let himself be outwitted. So when Dr. DeWinters informed the authories about him, not only did he become a wanted criminal, The Viper also demoted him. Now Dr. Lestrange was forced to spend his days in disguise, spying on the very man who ruined him. The moment the door opened, surely enough Claudius rushed in and knelt in front on her desk. Meanwhile Dr. Lestrange walked in slowly, disguised as a bum...

"Madame!" exclaimed Claudius as he stood up and pulled a yellow envelope out of his tweed blazer "I think this should please you very much!"

"Madame I brought the report of what I've managed to find this week" said Dr. Lestrange as he pulled a red envelope out of the tattered trenchcoat he wore "I think it might be of great interest to you this time"

"Just leave them and get the Hell out of here!" snapped Madame Cervantes as she gave them the most menacing glare possible "I'm in no mood to deal with you two right now"

Both men obviously valued their lives, so they put the envelopes on her desk, and quickly scurried out of the office. Once she was all alone, Madame Cervantes opened up the yellow envelope. As soon as she saw what was in it, a pleased look appear on her face. After all it contained the photos of the ten best assassins The Society had at that moment. As she looked at the men and women in the pictures, she knew that one of them would be her new top minion.

_"This one on the other hand" _thought Madame Cervantes as she picked put down the pictures and picked up the red envelope _"I'm tempted to just put in the trash can" _

After all the only reason The Viper had made Dr. Lestrange spy on Dr. DeWinters, was simply to humiliate him. Aside from that the doctor led a fairly ordinary life, so there never much to read. So far the only interesting thing Dr. Lestrange had found, dealt with the doctor's two children. The first was the fact that the doctor's son Alex was friends with Tea Gardner. The second was that his daughter Alexandria happened to work for Constantina. Not wanting to take any chances though, Madame Cervantes opened the red envelope and pulled out the report. The moment she saw what was on the top page, her green eyes opened wide in shock. Not only had Dr. Lestrange found something interesting, but it was something that could change the outcome of The Crimson Night. Suddenly a look of glee came across her face, and her green eyes began to glow once again. _I know exactly what I'm going to have to do now..._

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

_"Why can't I stop thinking about that woman?" _thought Raphael as he looked out of his office window at the Obsidian Inc building in the distance _"Even now that Azure Inc is doing so well?"_

Although several months has passed since Raphael went to see Madame Cervantes, he had never stopped thinking about her. Aside from the fact that she cheated him out of his father's pharmaceutical company, something wasn't right about her. After all despite the fact that she was the CEO of the top company in Domino, she continued to hide in the shadows. Whenever Obsidian Inc did have press conferences, she sent a short toadlike man to represent her. While most people appeared to have accepted the situation, Raphael was far from doing so. _Especially now that I'm convinced of what she's hiding..._

_"I know that woman is The Viper" _thought Raphael as he frowned for a moment as he observed the sun glinting off the black obelisk _"And that's why she tried to kill Mr. Anderson for revealing information about her" _

_**Knock Knock Knock**_

"Come in" said Raphael as he quickly turned around and looked back towards the door leading to his office "The door's open"

"Good morning Raphael" said Mr. Anderson cheerfully as he opened the door and stepped into the office "How are you this morning?"

"Good morning Mr. Anderson" said Raphael with a small smile as he walked over and greeted the older man "I'm doing fine"

"I just hope it's not too early for you to recieve visitors" said Mr. Anderson as he smiled and slowly began to open the door for someone "Since there's also somebody else who'd like to see you"

As soon as Mr. Anderson opened the door all the way, Constantina stepped into Raphael's office. She was dressed in a black blazer and skirt, high heels, and wore one of her many bizarre hats. She immediately smiled upon seeing Raphael, and teetered right in his direction. _It's too early in the morning for this..._

"Hello Raphael dahling!"exclaimed Constantina happily as she hugged him as tightly as she could "There's something that I've simply been dying to give you!"

"If it's the plans for your latest fashion show" said Raphael who couldn't believe just how tightly this woman was gripping him "Then your friend Rico brought them here yesterday afternoon"

"No this is something different dahling!" said Constantina as she pulled out a small white envelope out of her purse, and handed it to him"That's why I want to give it to you in person!"

The moment Raphael looked at the envelope, he was almost afraid to know what was inside. After all not only did this envelope have little hearts drawn all over, it also smelled like vanilla for some reason. Constantina was looking right at him with a smile on her face, so he had no choice but to open it. As soon as he did though, he found himself looking at small card with the picture of a birthday cake on it.

_"You are cordially invited to attend my birthday party on the evening of June 24th" _thought Raphael as he read what was written on the vanilla scented invitation _"The party starts at 6:30 and will take place at my house. Hope to see you there dahling! Constantina Von Furstenburg"_

"So will you come Raphael dahling?" asked Constantina with a hopeful look in her twinkling brown eyes "It would mean so much to me if you did!"

As Raphael looked into those large brown eyes, he felt as if though he had backed up into a corner. Even though he had to admit that Constantina was "eccentric", he knew that she was a good person. Not only that but she had helped Azure Inc so much, that it was about to replace Kaiba Corp as second best company in Domino. Raphael knew that he owed this woman alot, so maybe this was his chance to show his gratitute.

"I would be glad to come to your party Constantina" said Raphael as he looked down at the small woman in front of him _"Although I have a feeling I'll be going alone..."_

"Oh dahling you have no idea how happy you've made me!" squealed Constantina as she jumped up and hugged him again "It's going to be so much fun!"

"Well it looks like we have no choice but to cancel all plans for that night" said Mr. Anderson as he smiled as he looked up at Raphael "After all I'm going to be there as well"

"Oh it's such a shame your friends aren't here yet..." said Constantina as she let go of Raphael and looked around "I would love to have them there as well!"

No sooner had Constantina said this, the door flew open and Varon ran into the office. As soon as he was inside though, he slammed the door shut and quickly locked it. Almost immediately some pounding was heard outside, accompanied by Amelda's shouting. _This'll teach that pansy..._

"Hey how do ya like it out there mate?" laughed Varon who was having fun taunting the angry redhead outside "Are ya havin' fun?"

"Varon when I get this door open" shouted Amelda angrily as he continued pounding on the door like crazy "I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Just to let ya know this isn't my revenge" said Varon as he wiped a few tears of laughter away from his sky blue eyes "That's gonna come until later!"

As Raphael observed this scene, a small smile appeared on his face. After all it was first time in months, that he had seen Varon acting more like his old self. Before this he had been quiet, depressed, and hadn't argued with Amelda in months. So to see him playing childish pranks on his friend once again, meant that he was on the road to recovery. Meanwhile Mr. Anderson looked over at Constantina, and seemed to be urging her continue with her plan.

"Oh you cute little thing!" exclaimed Constantina as she suddenly snuck up behind the brunette and hugged him as hard as she could "How are you today?"

"Ugh!" cried Varon who felt as if though his circulation had just been cut off from the force of Constantina's hug "C-Can't breathe!"

"Oh dahling you're just too adorable!" said Constantina as she let go of him and squeezed one of his cheeks as usual "That's what I like about you!"

"If ya like me..." said Varon as he quickly grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open "Then you'll love this!"

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU VARON" shouted Amelda as he immediately stormed into the office fit to kill "I'M GOING TO-Huh?"

Although Amelda was absolutely furious, he stopped in his tracks when he saw Constantina standing there. The small black haired woman was glancing up at him, almost as if she were pondering something. After all the way that the redhead was looking at her, made it clear that he didn't like her or trust her. In fact he had been looking at her this way for several months, which made her realize something. If he knew about Amneris' past, then it was possible he knew about hers as well. Then again even if he did, she couldn't let this stop her from completing her plan. _I just hope everything works out..._

"Oh dahling you're looking as sexy as ever!" purred Constantina as she suddenly grabbed on to him like a leech and lay her head against his chest "Ooh is that a new cologne you're wearing?"

_"What is this woman doing here?" _thought Amelda as he glanced down at Constantina whose hands were roaming all over _"And why is she touching me this way!?"_

"Oh dahling I just hope to see you and Varon on the 24th!" said Constantina happily as she finally let go of the the redhead "It would make me so happy!"

"Huh?"

"Raphael can fill you in on everything" said Constantina as she skipped through the open door and waved goodbye "Goodbye dahlings!"

"I guess I'd better get going too" said Mr. Anderson as he adjusted his glasses and began to walk out of the office "I have plenty of work to do after all"

"Hey what was she talkin' about?" asked Varon with a confused look on his face as he rubbed his now aching cheek "What about the 24th?"

"I don't know" said Amelda as he looked over at Mr. Anderson as he closed the door to the office on his way out _"But I already have a bad feeling"_

"Before I tell you..." said Raphael with a slight chuckle as he pointed to the two chairs in front of him "I think you'd both better have a seat"

Both young men just exchanged confused glanced, but Raphael gestured for them to sit down. Varon looked up at him with a confused and slightly clueless look in his sky blue eyes. Amelda on the other hand looked up at him with a concerned yet annoyed look in his grey eyes. The moment that Raphael finally did give them the news, the expressions on both of their faces became exactly the same. _Just like two deer caught in the headlights..._

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: I'm so sorry that I couldn't get this up sooner, but my school schedule has been really demanding. I want to point out that most of the characters(most notably Seto) are going to be OOC once again. Also the story at this point is still a flashback, and it'll probably go on for the next few chapters. Anyways thanks for your patience and please review:D


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